What excites your aesthetic admiration?

Can be physical, spiritual, thought, real, imagined....anything.


Some of my picks:

The quiet of a gentle snowfall.
The smell of rain.
The sound and feel of a breeze through an Aspen stand.
The smell, sound and sight of a campfire on a beach on a starry night.

generousity and curteousness in people (i can't spell today)
the sun
a full rainbow
a genuine smile

a father with his daughter
rain <--- which is good that i like it, since i live in seattle!
attending a baseball game and witnessing a grand slam.
a kind word
a soft touch
a smile
a phone call or an email from a friend just to let you know they're thinking of you.

to name a few...

When I worked at the Senior Center we used to have dances on Wednesday afternoons. One of our participants absolutely loved to dance, but had some disabilities which prevented her from walking very well. In addition to that, her eyesight was very poor. Because there was such a high percentage of woman compared to men, the men pretty much had their choice of women in the room. Few of them chose to dance with her, but there was a man with a kind heart that made an effort each week to ask Lillian to dance. The glow on her face when he would ask her for the privilege of a dance was one of the most beautiful sights ever.

- Rainy Days (this is a popular one here)
- Fall
- Citrus scents
- Cookies
- The sound produced by acoustic guitars in the right hands
- Beating on conga drums or djembes
- Redheads
- Kittens

They are calling it "American Pieta" and it is beautiful:

The distant rumble of thunder.
The patter of rain on a windowsill.
The smell of rain.
The smell of sugar on the air (carmel corn being made at the local candy shop).
My kitty's snores.
The sound of locusts and other insects and tree frogs and bullfrogs.
Taking photographs.

Cher

The quiet of snowfall - definitely.
Karin's voice
Watching the Gators beat Tennessee
Hunters Southern Milk Chocolate Ice Cream
The California Coastline

full moon on a clear night
double rainbows
a baby's smile
children with their fathers
shamar moore
thunderstorms
candle light
being yourself, scales and all, with people who don't care that you're not perfect
a good book
something created by your own hand
puppies playing
live music
watching people sway to a great groove
the orchard apples
a well mixed margarita
a well presented raspberry mocha chip frapp
thai food
chinese food adn someone to share it with
a kiss under the moonlight
hearing my friends laugh
peace
diverse people loving each other as family

peace,
zayne

my friends
downtown Eustis
Karin singing
that redhead that works in downtown Eustis
100+ year old buildings
month-old kittens
paychecks

Pleasing all my senses:

sipping a hot cup of homemade soup,
on a snowy night,
while curled up in a down comforter with my love,
in front of a crackling mesquite fire,
enjoying candles and beautiful music.

Winter is beautiful to me.

well-executed vocal harmony
when you make eye contact with somebody and you both know what you are thinking.
a good cup of mint tea
the smell of lilacs

i heard this kid, a little girl about five or six, just laughing uncontrollably today. there are few sounds more beautiful than a kid just laughing.

I've stood on the shore of the Baltic in Sweden in December, waves of ice and breckish slush crashing against the snow, the air spraying giant flakes all over, so thick it was hard to see, the wind howling, twenty degrees below zero. It all felt so basic. I was so very small.

I've felt the pull of a 15 foot face of wave behind me, as I paddled as hard as I could to get in front, then I was thrown forward as the Hawaiin water spat me towards the beach and the curl started to come up underneath me, I planted both feet on the board, nose down, and felt my stomach rise into my throat as I dropped in, the wave crashing behind me as I turned left, then I backed in as the curl went around me and over my head and I stood, hand outstretched, drawing a line with my finger along the face of the this rolling, living thing. It felt like I was the ocean.

There was a girl in 2nd grade who used to sneak up behind me and put her hands over my eyes, and I would know it was her, and I would be scared to turn and look because her long blond hair and blue eyes might be too much for me to handle, and then I would turn and all I could see was that smile. I wish I could remember her name.

My grandmother said that she loved me, for the first time, when I was 10.

The beauty of my 75-year old fathers' hands and the sweet sad smile that comes to his face when we talk about mom.

Reading this post... this is very nice.

New friends
New love
Old friends
Stevie Ray's guitar solos
Beatles tunes
Fresh air
Starry nights
Walking barefoot outside after it rains (or, sometimes even better, during the rain)
Martin acoustic guitars
Taylor acoustic guitars
The smell of cedar
A special friend of thinking of right now...
Memories from college...

And...

My dog Boom-Boom

Some vivid childhood memories that I love to recall.
One:

Playing in my backyard as a child, under the overgrown limbs of an old lilac 'tree'. I made it my little house. An ideal hiding spot. I had rooms; rocks for seating. Some of the limbs made excellent shelves; little nooks where I could lay down and look up at the sky through the branches.
I wish I still had that little place to go to some days.

Seems to me the happiest people that walk this earth are those that are able (somehow) to find beauty in anything, or anyone. Having said that... I find beauty in people, nature, words, music, effort (among other places).

Also, I've noticed that the longer I stand and look at something, or interact with it, the more beauty I tend to see in it. I guess it helps to just slow down sometimes.
Late,
J

Boobies!

To start with:

rocks
trees
clouds
the moon
(just a few of the things most people don't give a second glance)


clear night skies away from the city
music
photography
falling snow
a child's genuine laughter (right on, Bill!)
the ocean
animals
old cemeteries
the words of certain authors

a puppy yawn so big it comes with a squeak

Community

i went to visit one of my consumers yesterday evening.

she is 91, legally blind, very hard of hearing, even with her hearing aids. she has a history of cogestive heart failure, she has severe arthritis and apparently the worst case of hammer toes anyone has ever seen. she takes at least 16 different perscription medications, and her family doesn't allow her to walk around or get out of bed by herself because she is at risk for falling and she takes blood thinners, so they are afraid for her.

and everyday she tells her daughter, "i thank god for all of my blessings!"

i am so humbled.

wow....

beautiful.

thanks for sharing.

you are right, that lady is pretty beautiful. they made 'em a lot tougher back then.

great story. thank you for sharing it.

My two little boy cousins playing or drawing together

Watching the snow fall very early in the morning

Sitting on the porch swing at sunset with 4-year-old Bridger Max on my lap and just enjoying one another's company, softly telling stories or singing to him

The clarity and control of the well-trained voice of an Irish soprano

Anyone who goes out of their way to make someone feel special

Trudes' talk of childhood memories reminds me of one of my favorites. It happened in early spring when it was still to cold to go barefoot, according to mom, but then what did mom know? Anyway, I would slip out of the house and head for the newly disked field and take off my shoes and socks and hop from one huge turned bit of earth to another. It was like jumping from stone to stone in a creek . . . slick, cool, smooth on my still tender bare feet. And the heavenly scent of freshly turned earth. There wasn't anythihng better.

I came out of the bathroom this morning, dressed in black khakis and and a light sweater, and my husband just stared and grinned at me.

"What??!!??" I demanded.

"You're beautiful" was his response.

this?

music

This is the Helix Nebula, as photographed from Hubble. It is not only gorgeous in color, it looks like an eye*, which makes it even cooler.

*Albeit the eye of a drinker or a stoner, judging by the redness. Wouldn't it be cool if there was a God and this was his eye and he was a stoner? Course, might explain alot too. Hehe. Anyway:



Browse some more beauty over at www.hubblesite.org.

Waking up in the morning and seeing Amanda and Paige's faces looking back at me.

so many of you have hit favorites already

the universe, space, planets, moon (wow!) i love to visit nasa's astronomy picture of the day online.

winter, snow, quiet

Picasso's Old Guitarrist

CR MackIntosh's work

Alphonse Mucha's work

fall foliage

home lights (like little strands of lights or candles)

a well-prepared meal, period.

the view from being in the middle of forests or other "naturally-made" places (being completely surrounded by trees, dirt, river, roots, animals)

thick mexican hot chocolate

the circular motion in Hapkido

friends on the orchard.

i love you all.

They're singing praises to God in the empty apartment next to mine. And it's beautiful.

long walks at night with lilly with karin's voice singing in my ears.

Wow, pdg...I agree, that is gorgeous. Did you take that shot?

I wish. It was taken by the San Diego Union-Tribune. We had an all-night thunderstorm Monday night, which is extremely rare for this area. Last one I recall like that was Tropical Storm Norman.

*bump*

my cousin's new wife at their wedding last night.
dancing the chicken dance with my 3 year old cousin.

....

(Bump for Jessyka )


Seeing my caterpillar turn into a butterfly

Being called by my 7-year old neice tonight because she wanted to tell me she had perfect behavior for a whole week for the first time this school year. (I told her she could do that if she tried.)

whoo hoo! thanks jeanne!

spending time with my best friend and her kids. i love those kids.

the yankees, out of the playoffs again.

that is *beautiful*!

Something I thought was genuinely beautiful just happened in the Patty Griffin fan community I'm part of. One of the forum regulars named Sandi lost her brother (with whom she was very close) in a train crash a couple of weeks ago. She made a short post the day after it happened saying how much shock and pain she felt. The outpouring of support for her on the forum was truly heartwarming. The admin started up a dedicated thread where people could post messages of sympathy and support, many of us sent flowers and cards, one of the members accepted gifts and notes from a few dozen of us to put in a big gift bag and send to her, another person put together a musical video card with photos of the forum regulars set to Patty's song When It Don't Come Easy, which was really one of the most touching things I've ever seen (a link to the 25Mb Windows Movie file is here if anyone with broadband wants to take a look). A couple of forum members who are musicians even wrote songs for her.

Here is Sandi's response yesterday:


To My Dear PattyFamily,

I don’t even know where to start with this.

A week ago, I was having trouble expressing how warm and loved you all have made me feel during this very difficult time I am going thru. I have posted thank you’s but it just didn’t feel like it properly expressed the unbelievable amount of gratitude I am feeling in my heart for all of you.

You guys have given me so much that I feel completely overwhelmed by it. PM’s, IM’s, cards, calls, flowers, music and the beautiful messages left to me in your posts and that gorgeous video card. It seemed like whenever I was home and walking thru the house or sitting at the computer, I was enveloped in support from all of you. Support that I really, really needed.

Then today I received a package in the mail. A very large box. In it was a PattyNet Let Your Freedom Ring tote. I saw that Kris mailed it and I wondered what she was sending me. I carefully started taking things out of this tote that was chocked FULL. Some things were wrapped, there were many beautiful colored envelopes with stickers and words of love adhered to them, there were cd’s and trinkets and aroma therapy items, there were chocolates, fruit and other snacky things, coffee, tea, there were books and crayons and Scooby Doo coloring book, and photo’s of the sky and things that looked like Lime and Elise…..and Ian, I have a copy of the Patty Tribute CD…I GOT 2 FEATHER BOAS!!!! A journal and a Panda bear. A lovely handmade scarf and candles, cat toys and I even got a bowling set! So many cards. The colored envelopes each contained a letter or note from one of my PattySiblings – I cried at every word I read.

The best thing in this tote was LOVE. There was so much of it that I am just drowning in it right now.

I am a very lucky person to have “met” you all. You enrich my life and are indeed friends in EVERY sense of the word. You are my PattyFamily. Other artists should envy Patty for not only her talent, but the people she attracts. YOU.

I am truly at a loss on how to express my love and appreciation for all of your love and support. Please know that you are all deep in my heart and many, many thanks to all of you. You have made a difference for me during the worst time of my life. I cannot wait to pass out hugs of love to each of you in person one day.

All my love,
Sandi

Wow!

That is awesome Keith! It really inforces the loving power that these online communities are able to share.

That truly is Beautiful!

Thanks for sharing that Keith. That was a beautiful thing for y'all to do for her.
Also, it must have been a hard letter to write at such a difficult time although I am sure she appreciates and loves you all. Hoping her strength is returning.

The ladies of the Orchard.

A jazz trumpeter hitting it

Ear-bleeding volume, the sound of four amazing friends and me standing in a room, pouring it all out. God, band practice felt SO GOOD last night...